Nicholas Schroeck

Nicholas Schroeck

Biography

Nick Schroeck, director of the Transnational Environmental Law Clinic, teaches the clinic, advanced clinic, Environmental Law and Energy Law Current Topics Seminar at Wayne State University Law School. In addition to his teaching, Schroeck supervises clinic student attorneys on a variety of environmental law and policy matters. He also serves as co-director of community outreach and engagement at the university's Center for Urban Responses to Environmental Stressors.

Schroeck has represented the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Michigan Environmental Council, National Wildlife Federation and Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, among others. Licensed to practice in Michigan, he has litigated cases before administrative tribunals; in Circuit Court, Court of Appeals and state Supreme Court; and before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. His areas of expertise include air pollution, water pollution, environmental justice, transportation and citizen suit enforcement.

He is a sought-after expert and commentator on environmental matters. Schroeck is a regular in-studio guest on WDET-FM 101.9 in Detroit, and he is frequently quoted by The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press. He has provided analysis for The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time and National Public Radio, including a featured appearance on “Science Friday.”

In 2014, Schroeck was a visiting professor at the Northwest University of Politics and Law in Xi'an China, teaching International Environmental Law. He also has taught International Environmental Law for Southwestern Law School's Vancouver Study Abroad program at the University of British Columbia.

Previously, Schroeck was executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, a 501(c)(3) public interest law organization that works in partnership with the clinic. Prior to leading the Center, he was a regional representative and attorney for the National Wildlife Federation, America's largest conservation organization, out of its Great Lakes Natural Resources Center in Ann Arbor. Before joining the federation, he was a Sea Grant Fellow with the Great Lakes Commission. During law school, Schroeck interned with the Michigan Attorney General's office, where he assisted with the prosecution of environmental crimes. He also served as a student attorney and as board secretary of the Free Legal Aid Clinic. Prior to law school, Schroeck worked in electoral politics as a field coordinator on the 2002 Connecticut governor's race and as a paralegal at a law firm in Washington, D.C.

Schroeck is a graduate of Wayne Law. He also holds a bachelor of arts degree, cum laude, in urban studies and political science from Elmhurst College in Illinois. While at Elmhurst, he had the distinction to study for a year in the Politics Honors College at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

An avid reader, Schroeck enjoys travel, gardening and cooking with his wife, Elizabeth, who is a third-grade teacher in Rochester. Proud supporters of Detroit's cultural gems, you are likely to run into them at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Symphony Orchestra or Detroit Lions games.

Community service

Co-chair, Great Lakes and Inland Waters Committee, State Bar of Michigan, Environmental Section

Advisory Board, National Sea Grant Law Center

Steering Committee, Community Action to Promote Healthy Environments

Director, East Michigan Environmental Action Council

Legal Advisor, Detroit Sound Conservancy

Member, National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and Michigan Society of the Sons of the American Revolution

Awards and honors

Sierra Club, Michigan Chapter, White Pine Award, August 2014

Wayne State University Alumni Association, Recent Alumni Award, May 2012

Degrees and Certifications

J.D., Wayne State University Law SchoolB.A., Elmhurst College

Courses Taught

Transnational Environmental Law ClinicAdvanced Transnational Environmental Law ClinicEnergy Law: Current Topics SeminarEnvironmental Law

Selected Publications

"Microplastic Pollution in the Great Lakes: State, Federal, and Common Law Solutions" (forthcoming)

Accomplishments

led a tour of Southwest Detroit and Dearborn for the Health and Environmental Funders Network.

September 15, 2017

Nicholas Schroeck

was featured in an interview with Great Lakes Now. In it he discusses Enbridge’s Line 5 Pipeline. Watch the video here.

June 14, 2017

Nicholas Schroeck

presented, "The Spirit of Detroit-Ensuring that Voices are Heard" at the Quality of Life 2017 Leadership Academy presented by the Michigan Departments of Environmental Quality, Natural Resources and Agriculture and Rural Development.

March 28, 2017

Nicholas Schroeck

was part of a panel discussing, "Health Equity at Industrial Scale: the Frank Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act under the Trump Administration." The event was held at the University of Michigan.

October 20, 2016

Nicholas Schroeck

moderated a community environmental health chat titled, "Getting the Lead Out: Detroit Perspectives." It was sponsored by The Center for Urban Responses to Environmental Stressors (CURES).

June 23, 2016

Nicholas Schroeck

spoke on a panel at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Colloquium of the Academy of Environmental Law in Oslo, Norway. His topic was, "Multijurisdictional response to Lake Erie Algae: International, Federal, State and Provincial legal strategies for combating nutrient pollution in the Great Lakes."

April 5, 2016

Nicholas Schroeck

spoke on a panel for the Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources conference "Urban Infrastructure: Water, Energy & Emissions in Detroit." The title of his panel discussion was "Clearing the Air: Industrial Emissions, Human Health and Pending Lawsuits."

In the news

June 12, 2018

Nicholas Schroeck

was interviewed by WDET for its report, “Michigan Could Be on the Verge of Another Drinking Water Crisis.”

wrote “Why Michigan needs to draw more revenue from its booming bottled water industry” for The Conversation. WTOP (Washington D.C.), San Francisco Chronicle, Danbury News Times (Danbury, Conn.), Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Connecticut Post, Beaumont Enterprise (Beaumont, Texas) and San Antonio Express News also picked up the article.

was quoted for a Detroit Free Press report on the Moroun family’s pending purchase of the 188-acre contaminated McLouth Steel site in Trenton and negotiations with the EPA on how the site will be restored.

was interviewed by The Associated Press for a story about Flint's ongoing water disaster. The report has been published and broadcast on news outlets nationally and internationally including Fox News, U.S. News & World Report, CTV Canada, Dubuque (Iowa) Telegraph Herald, Denton (Texas) Record-Chronicle, The Sun Chronicle in Attleboro, Mass., and Juneau (Alaska) Empire.